“For he is the living God;
he endures forever.
His kingdom will not be destroyed;
his authority is forever. 15
7:7 “After these things, as I was watching in the night visions 16 a fourth beast appeared – one dreadful, terrible, and very strong. 17 It had two large rows 18 of iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and anything that was left it trampled with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that came before it, and it had ten horns.
7:9 “While I was watching,
thrones were set up,
and the Ancient of Days 19 took his seat.
His attire was white like snow;
the hair of his head was like lamb’s 20 wool.
His throne was ablaze with fire
and its wheels were all aflame. 21
7:19 “Then I wanted to know the meaning 22 of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others. It was very dreadful, with two rows of iron teeth and bronze claws, and it devoured, crushed, and trampled anything that was left with its feet.
“Three 26 more kings will arise for Persia. Then a fourth 27 king will be unusually rich, 28 more so than all who preceded him. When he has amassed power through his riches, he will stir up everyone against 29 the kingdom of Greece.
12:1 “At that time Michael,
the great prince who watches over your people, 30
will arise. 31
There will be a time of distress
unlike any other from the nation’s beginning 32
up to that time.
But at that time your own people,
all those whose names are 33 found written in the book,
will escape.
1 tn Heb “good of appearance.”
2 tn Heb “knowers of knowledge.”
3 tn Heb “understanders of knowledge.”
4 tn Heb “who had strength.”
5 tn Heb “to stand in the palace of the king.” Cf. vv. 5, 19.
6 sn The language of the Chaldeans referred to here is Akkadian, an East Semitic cuneiform language.
7 tn Heb “Chaldeans” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV). This is an ancient name for the Babylonians.
8 tn Aram “were trembling and fearing.” This can be treated as a hendiadys, “were trembling with fear.”
9 tn Aram “let live.” This Aramaic form is the aphel participle of חַיָה(khayah, “to live”). Theodotion and the Vulgate mistakenly take the form to be from מְחָא (mÿkha’, “to smite”).
10 tn Aram “prays a prayer.”
11 tn Aram “said.”
12 tn Aram “had eaten the pieces of.” The Aramaic expression is ironic, in that the accusers who had figuratively “eaten the pieces of Daniel” are themselves literally devoured by the lions.
13 tn The Aramaic active impersonal verb is often used as a substitute for the passive.
14 tc The LXX specifies only the two overseers, together with their families, as those who were cast into the lions’ den.
15 tn Aram “until the end.”
16 tn The Aramaic text has also “and behold.” So also in vv. 8, 13.
17 sn The fourth animal differs from the others in that it is nondescript. Apparently it was so fearsome that Daniel could find nothing with which to compare it. Attempts to identify this animal as an elephant or other known creature are conjectural.
18 tn The Aramaic word for “teeth” is dual rather than plural, suggesting two rows of teeth.
19 tn Or “the Ancient One” (NAB, NRSV, NLT), although the traditional expression has been retained in the present translation because it is familiar to many readers. Cf. TEV “One who had been living for ever”; CEV “the Eternal God.”
20 tn Traditionally the Aramaic word נְקֵא (nÿqe’) has been rendered “pure,” but here it more likely means “of a lamb.” Cf. the Syriac neqya’ (“a sheep, ewe”). On this word see further, M. Sokoloff, “’amar neqe’, ‘Lamb’s Wool’ (Dan 7:9),” JBL 95 (1976): 277-79.
21 tn Aram “a flaming fire.”
22 tn Aram “to make certain.”
23 tn Heb “we have not pacified the face of.”
24 tn Or “by gaining insight.”
25 tn Heb “by your truth.” The Hebrew term does not refer here to abstract truth, however, but to the reliable moral guidance found in the covenant law. See vv 10-11.
26 sn Perhaps these three more kings are Cambyses (ca. 530-522
27 sn This fourth king is Xerxes I (ca. 486-465
28 tn Heb “rich with great riches.”
29 tn The text is difficult. The Hebrew has here אֶת (’et), the marker of a definite direct object. As it stands, this would suggest the meaning that “he will arouse everyone, that is, the kingdom of Greece.” The context, however, seems to suggest the idea that this Persian king will arouse in hostility against Greece the constituent elements of his own empire. This requires supplying the word “against,” which is not actually present in the Hebrew text.
30 tn Heb “stands over the sons of your people.”
31 tn Heb “will stand up.”
32 tn Or “from the beginning of a nation.”
33 tn The words “whose names are” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.